The Perfect Birthday Present
by Living in a fantasy
Summary: It's Matt's birthday, but it seems like Mello has forgotten about it. Matt doesn't want a big fancy party or expensive gifts. All he wants is for Mello to want to celebrate with him.


AN: Happy birthday dear Matty, happy birthday to you! I woke up this morning, got online half asleep, noticed the date, and BAM! I remembered that Matt's birthday is today! I instantly thought of what I could write in a tribute to him and this came to me. Enjoy everyone.

Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note Matt and Mello would have celebrated every birthday together for many years…much more then in the canon that I do not own.

/…/…/…/

The Perfect Birthday Present

I woke up slowly that Saturday morning, blinking blearily in the sunlight streaming in through the window. Yawning, I stretched slowly and sat up, glancing at the clock as I did so. It was 9:30 AM. I glanced across the room to see Mello still asleep in his bed. That was odd. Mello usually woke up by nine on weekends. I'm not sure how he does it.

Mentally shrugging to myself, I stood and grabbed a quick change of clothes, making my way to the shower.

It was only in the midst of washing my hair that I realized the date.

February first.

My birthday.

Birthdays had never really been a big thing for me. They certainly had not been celebrated at home, and Wammy's house had not been very big on celebrating them either. If you were very close to someone you could expect a 'Happy Birthday' and if you were lucky a present, maybe even your favorite dish for dinner that night. That was in addition to the homemade cards Linda made for everyone, but that didn't matter particularly much to me. All I really hoped for was for Mello to acknowledge my birthday.

He'd at least done that much. I'd always get a birthday wish and a couple years he even gave me a small gift. Nothing big, nothing fancy, but the fact that he remembered was always plenty for me.

Of course lately there was one other thing I kind of wanted.

I guess it wasn't totally unreasonable to think about it. Mello was the only person I was really close to here, and I was twelve today after all. It wasn't strange to be curious right?

Well maybe a little strange, but the concept was the same. The person was the only thing that was any different.

I quickly dressed and made my way to our room. It was ten now, and Mello was sure to be awake. Sure enough when I walked in our room he was sitting up, wiping his eyes sleepily.

…He looked so cute when he did that.

"Morning," I said, moving into our room. He glanced up at me and waved tiredly, gathering his own set of clothes and leaving the room to shower.

That wasn't so weird after all. He'd just woken up. I'm sure he'd say something when he was more awake.

But he didn't say anything. He led us to breakfast complaining about a score he got on a test. Back at our room he began talking about a paper he had to write due next week. But he didn't say a word about my birthday. He didn't say anything.

I offered to go to the kitchen and grab us some hot chocolate just to get out of the room. It was already one and he hadn't indicated that he knew today was any different from any other day.

I couldn't deny that I was disappointed. I tried telling myself not to be surprised but still…it didn't feel good. I'd only ever expected him to acknowledge my birthday, but he didn't even do that.

"Hey Matt!" a sweet voice said from behind me. I turned around to find Linda smiling brightly at me. I managed a half smile back and stopped to face her.

"Hi Linda."

"Here," she said handing out a card. It was really nicely done this year. I could tell she put a lot of effort into it. Inside was a sketched picture of me and Mello sitting beneath a tree outside. It made me happy and sad again at the same time.

"Thank you," I told her, slipping the card carefully into my pocket so it wouldn't bend.

She turned and quickly moved down the hall from where she'd come. "Happy Birthday Matt!"

"Thanks…" I said quietly to the empty air. Sighing slightly, I turned and continued towards the kitchen.

I retrieved two steaming mugs of hot chocolate then slowly continued back up towards our room. Linda was the only person to say anything about my birthday. At least I knew I wasn't mistaking the date…but at the same time I kind of wished I had. After all, then Mello would have another chance to remember.

"Hello Matt."

I jumped at the sudden voice and almost spilled both mugs of hot chocolate. When I was sure both mugs were secure I looked around, spotting Near on the floor stacking dice.

…Had he been there when I walked past before?

"Uh…hi Near."

"I believe it is your birthday today," he said quietly, one hand moving to his hair while the other placed another dice. "Congratulations are in order."

"I didn't really do much," I said awkwardly, shifting slightly from foot to foot. Near's face didn't change expressions. He hadn't even looked at me.

"Regardless," he said, watching the tower until he was sure it was steady, "Have an enjoyable birthday."

"Thank you." When I was sure he wasn't going to say anymore, I turned and moved back towards my room.

Near wishing me a happy birthday just made me feel worse.

I couldn't open the door to our room with both hands full, so I was forced to kick the door and wait for Mello to let me in. He opened the door and immediately took his hot chocolate, sitting at his desk and opening a text book. It was probably for his report.

I sighed, dejected, and slowly moved to my bed. I took one last look at Mello studying furiously before I pulled out my Gameboy. I guess I could work on finishing another level of my game.

We sat there in silence for over an hour. My game just wasn't helping. I couldn't bring myself to care. I just couldn't believe Mello would actually forget my birthday. I stared blankly down at the screen as it flashed Game Over. Suddenly Mello closed his book with a snap, stood, and looked at me. "Come on. I have to go into town to replenish my chocolate."

Oh yeah. How could I forget? On the first of every month Roger let us go to town so Mello could get himself a new stash of chocolate.

I slowly turned off my game and stood. Mello and I both donned our coats and left Wammy's. He pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket as we walked, eating it slowly as we walked toward our destination.

It was sunny out, and not too cold, so it wasn't an unpleasant walk. It would have been more pleasant if it wasn't like any other day though.

If Mello thought my silence was weird, he didn't show it. And if something was annoying Mello he was sure to say it, so I could assume he hadn't noticed. Maybe he was just glad I wasn't talking.

Mello spent half an hour getting his chocolate. By the time he was done it was 3:30 and I was just waiting for this terrible day to be over.

We left the store and started back when Mello stopped me. "Hey Matt, come with me."

I shrugged and followed, not really paying attention to where he was leading me. When I looked up though, I couldn't hold back a gasp of surprise.

We were standing in front of the arcade. Mello never stopped here. He hated the constant beeping of so many games and the yelling of gamers and children. I very rarely ever journeyed inside. "Mello?" I questioned.

He didn't look at me. "Well go on. I didn't lead us here to stare at it."

I could feel the grin light up my face and I rushed inside, Mello's chuckles following behind me.

We spent an hour at the arcade. An entire hour! Mello even played with me a few times. It almost made up for the long day.

By the time we got back it was nearing five. I wasn't sure if Mello had taken me to the arcade for my birthday or just because he felt kind for some reason, but it had cheered me up quite a bit. But that was nothing compared to how I felt when I opened the door of our room.

Sitting on the desk was a large chocolate cake, which on closer inspection had a sloppily drawn Gameboy with the words 'Happy Birthday Matt' written in red icing. A small banner wishing me a happy birthday was hung in the room too. I could only stare a moment before turning to Mello, who was actually grinning at the shock probably all over my face. "Mello…when did you…?" I trailed off, not quite sure what to say.

"You didn't honestly think I'd forgotten your birthday did you Matt?" he asked, nudging me inside and closing the door behind us. I could only stare at him numbly, causing him to laugh. "I couldn't forget your birthday Matt. I have to admit though it was hard to keep up the ruse with you sulking all day."

"I wasn't sulking," I argued, although I knew it was true. His eyes softened then as he walked farther into the room.

"I am sorry you spent the day thinking I forgot. I just wanted to do something better this year."

"But who did this?" I asked, gesturing to the banner and several balloons attached to the ends, with the cake on the desk complete with plates, candles, and silverware.

"Linda," he said. "I told her I wanted to do something better then you're used to getting. I figured it would be better than just me saying Happy Birthday. Plus I figured you'd love a trip to the arcade."

It was too much to take in at once. Mello had gone through so much trouble…and I had thought he didn't care at all. But he did care. He cared so much more then anyone else ever had, and to my embarrassment I could feel my throat tighten slightly.

"Matt? What's wrong?" Mello sounded worried and I shook my head quickly, wanting to reassure him.

"Nothing. It's perfect. It's just…no one has done so much for me. I-"The words died in my throat when Mello moved forward and wrapped his arms tightly around my shoulders. I stiffened slightly in surprise a moment before slowly wrapping my arms around his waist.

"I know your birthdays have never been great Matt. It isn't fair. That's why I wanted to make this year different."

A slow smile spread across my face. "Thank you," I told him sincerely. We stayed like that a few moments before we broke apart. "Did you bake that?" I asked.

"The cooks helped me," he said and I nodded. "Should we have it now?"

I nodded again and we enjoyed the cake together. I didn't need a huge fancy party. As long as Mello was there, my birthday would be perfect.

"Was there anything else you wanted?" he asked a little while later.

I must have made some kind of face because he was watching my curiously now. "Matt?" he asked, and I turned away. I couldn't actually ask for something like that. What would he say? He'd probably be disgusted and regret going to so much trouble for me. "Matt what is it?" It was obvious he hadn't expected a reaction like this. I glanced at him again but quickly looked away, cheeks heating slightly. Now that he had asked, I couldn't get the image out of my head.

"Matt tell me." His voice was serious and when I looked up I saw he had leaned forward on his bed some, watching me.

"A kiss." I hadn't meant to say it out loud, but it had slipped out. My face grew even more heated, not only at the request, but at how unsure my voice sounded. I averted my eyes before I could see the expression on his face and stared at the floor.

"Oh," he said finally.

There was silence for a few minutes before I heard him shifting on the bed.

"Okay."

"What?" I gasped, looking up abruptly. I wildly thought maybe he assumed I wanted to kiss a girl, but he wasn't second at Wammy's for nothing. He had already stood and was now in front of me. His hand shot out and held my chin gently. His eyes met mine before he leaned in and kissed me gently on the lips.

It was quick and innocent, closed lips pressing against closed lips. But it was nice, and it was the greatest present he could have given me.

He pulled back, smiling and a faint blush staining his face. My face in comparison was probably as red as my hair. "Are you sure there isn't anything else you want?"

"What?!" I squeaked, my face reddening even more if it was even possible. He laughed out loud at that and took a step backwards.

"I meant your birthday present you pervert."

"Oh," I said, looking away, embarrassed. He chuckled and I listened as his footsteps moved away. I looked up as I heard him returning, and he placed a wrapped gift in my hands. "Mello this is too much," I protested. He shook his head so I fell silent, slowly unwrapping my gift.

I just stared at it. It was a Nintendo DS. They had just been released, and I hadn't had enough money to buy one. I was hoping to be able to get one next month but now…"Mello…" I just stared up at him for a moment. "Thank you. For everything."

He smiled warmly. "It was no trouble."

I shook my head. "No, I know it was a lot of trouble. But thank you so much for doing it. You're the only one who'd ever bother."

"You deserve it Matt." He said voice serious. "I know your birthdays were never that great, but you deserve a good one."

I smiled. The day had started off so awful. I had believed for a while that Mello had really forgotten. But he hadn't. He had made this the greatest birthday I'd ever had. I loved the cake, the DS, the arcade trip; but really all I had really wanted was for him to want to celebrate it with me.

And the kiss. I had really wanted the kiss.

He leaned in again and placed another kiss to my lips, longer and sweeter this time. He pulled away after several seconds and said what I'd been waiting to hear all day. "Happy Birthday Matt."

Yes…this was the greatest birthday ever.

/…/…/…/

AN: You had to know I'd make it cute. I mean it's me. After 14 Death Note fics, most of them ending in fluff, you must have expected it would all end well for Matt. I couldn't make him have a terrible birthday. I made Mello so nice in this xD

Matt eludes to his past birthdays a bit, but Matt's past in this is the same as in Savior's, only it isn't an AU. I always thought Matt had a bad home life. I suppose that's how I always saw him. It's why I think he relies on Mello so much.

Anyway enough ranting. Happy Birthday Matty! Please review and tell me what you think. Matt deserves a lot of love on his birthday don't you think?


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